Jackpot on an Early Morning in Copenhagen

These crazy clouds are almost straight out of the camera. This sunrise, is one of the craziest I have ever seen, and the weirdest part, is that I never saw the Sun itself. I saw it shine on the city behind me, but before it got clear of the horizon, it disappeared behind clouds. I shot this photo from Skuespilhuset and it shows Operahuset (The Opera House) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo by: Jacob Surland, www.caughtinpixels.com. Licensed Creative Commons, Non-Commercial, no derivatives v4.0.

A wild sunrise at the Opera House of Copenhagen photographed at the very climax of it’s stunning beauty. Processed using Photomatix and Photoshop.

Getting up really early can be hard, but I find that I am often rewarded by unique experiences, worth getting to experience. A particular morning like this morning started with a drizzle. It was close to pitch dark, and pretty overcast when I started out. The first images I shot, I assumed to almost just dark clouds. But as I processed them in Photomatix very interesting colors appeared in the clouds. The first colors of a wild sunrise, already played around in the clouds.

One of the major sites in lies in the heart of Copenhagen. It's called Nyhavn and means New Harbor. This is just before sunrise, before the neon lights are shut off. Photo by: Jacob Surland, www.caughtinpixels.com

I thought it was almost pitch dark when I shot this image of Nyhavn in Copenhagen, but tone mapping provides wonderful surprises, by enhancing even the smallest hints of colors. In this case traces of purple and pink in the clouds.

It’s one of those wonderful things I love so much about HDR photography; small surprises that show themselves during the tone mapping in Photomatix. Hints of colors and subtle texture are emphasized, and details from shadows can be seen, making it a stunning box of chocolates, worth investigating.

The image above the Opera House in Copenhagen was the climax on that morning. Something odd happened not long after. What I would have expected to happen, was for the Sun to show itself, but I never saw the Sun. It disappeared up above the clouds, before I saw it, and it grew into a grew morning. A huge foreplay, for nothing.

This photo shows, how close I was to see the Sun. It’s only a few feets really, the Sun missed me, before disappearing for good.

This is a photo of the Royal Palace Amalienborg, home of the Danish Regent Queen Margrethe II. In the far distance you can see the Mable Church (Marmorkirken). Notice how the colors are still at play, at the most distance part of the clouds. Photo by: Jacob Surland, www.caughtinpixels.com

This is a photo of the Royal Palace Amalienborg, home of the Danish Regent Queen Margrethe II. In the far distance you can see the Mable Church (Marmorkirken). Notice how the colors are still at play, at the most distance part of the clouds.

While this may be a small thing, it’s still a very strong memory that I have, enhanced by the wild photos I have made from this particular morning. A morning I had my doubts about, and which in a way disappeared before it went full blown, but still went absolutely amazing.

 

 

Leave a Reply